


I Like Me Better (When I'm With You)

by pjiminshair



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternative Universe - No Island, Engaged Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, F/M, Felicity Smoak Loves Oliver Queen, Fluff, Laurel Lance Bashing, Oliver Queen Loves Felicity Smoak, flommy frienship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16065800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pjiminshair/pseuds/pjiminshair
Summary: A extremely fluffy piece of Olicity, no island AU. Where Oliver and Felicity meet and fall in love in Boston without all the unnecessary drama that comes with living in Starling City, and there continuing journey as a couple.For the moment, it's a completed One shot, but, I will most probably become part of a series.





	I Like Me Better (When I'm With You)

Oliver’s life changed completely on the day after he dropped out of his third Ivy-league university. His father had finally had had enough of his careless behaviour towards society in general, and even his mother, who was usually always on his side was giving him an extremely disappointed look.

“That’s it, Oliver!” His father practically spat out, and Oliver cringed wondering when exactly had his father lost his patience when it came to his playboy son? “One more chance. I will send you to one more college, as far from Starling as it can possibly get.  And if you step one foot in this city without a Bachelors’ degree in business, I swear to god, I will disown you!”

Oliver looked at his father like he had lost his mind. The man was serious, and his mom had tears in her eyes. Oliver felt furious. He pressed his lips shut, and walked out of his father’s office. And he would have kept walking too, if he hadn’t heard is mom break down into tears in the middle of the day, in a place as public as their Family company.

“Oh, Robert…”She sobbed, “I honestly don’t know what to do anymore.” Oliver’s gut tightened at the helpless tone of her voice. Was he really such a disappointment that he would make a woman as strong and as resolute as Moira Queen cry? He heard his father push his chair back and move towards his mother, he imagined them hugging even though the last thing he would associate with his parents was PDA.

“Let’s just pray to God that he grows up, Moira. There is nothing else that I know that I can do. I don’t know how much time I have left to live.” The blood in Oliver’s veins froze. “The last thing I want is our family’s legacy in somebody else hands.”

_ Oh god… _ Oliver thought, and realized, maybe first time in years just how serious the situation was.

He was going to have to change.

 

The conditions to his new lifestyles are easy enough. He’ll be given a tight budget every month. From which, he’ll have to manage rent and groceries. He’ll be attending Harvard University, and will not be allowed to have any sort of contact with any of his Starling City friends. (That one point had made him want to argue at first, before he realized that it really would be easier for him to change if he wasn’t being pulled by the memories of his past.) Raisa teaches him the basics of living alone in the two weeks he stays at the mansion before he leaves for another school. And for once he pays attention to her words as she teaches him how to do laundry, and cook food, and vacuum the place.

It takes him a few more months to get situated into his new lifestyle. After all, he was slightly addicted to alcohol before he completely called it quits. Now, whenever a bar tempts him, it is easy to listen to his father’s words in his mind, and he can finally cross over to the next block and sit in the library instead.

_ I don’t know how much time I have left. _ His father had said, and yet, there Oliver was, drinking his weight in vodka, and being selfish.

He took up a membership in a nearby physical fitness place to get out his frustrations whenever he felt that the study material was a bit too much for him to cover (Which was a lot), but at the same time, he also realized, that he wasn’t really as stupid as he thought he was. Boxing helped him get out his self loathing, weight lifting made him feel stronger, both physically and mentally, and archery made him concentrate and focus on the important aspects of life.

He cropped his hair short when he realised that he won’t be able to take care of it as well as he used to without all the spare time and family stylists, and began to rock a bit of scruff after missing a few days of shaving.

Between School, gym, and taking care of himself, he had a pretty pathetic social life. So really, it’s a complete miracle by which he found the love of his life in a random coffee shop downtown.

 

Felicity was a literal burst of colour in his monotonous life, and nowhere the type of girl he would have gone for back in Starling. He met her during the end of his first year in Massachusetts. It was in a complete non-descript coffee shop, and Oliver had been sleep deprived for almost two days trying to prepare for his end of semester exams. He had been staring at his laptop; waiting for the blank text document to fill two more pages that he would need for his 50 page paper due tomorrow, when one of the employees crashed against his table, spilling a latte all over his laptop. The screen fizzled and smoked before turning black.

“Holy shit.” Oliver breathed out, standing at the same time. He looked at the scrawny kid who had spilled the drink on his precious hard work with wary eyes. Maybe if he was a little well-rested, he would have been angry. As it was, all he wanted to do at that moment was cry.

Oliver, with his 6’2” height and gigantic frame, wanted to stick out his lower lip and throw a tantrum. As it was, he was saved from the mortification that came with the burning in the back of his eyes when an angel appeared in front of him like a knight in shining armour.

Felicity sure looked like an angel then. With shiny golden hair, bubblegum blue eyes, behind green and black framed glasses, and a white and baby pink sundress, she interjected the situation before the employee could even apologise,

“Oh my god, is she okay?” Oliver looked at her with confused eyes. Who exactly was the ‘she’ in this scenario? When he realised that the girl had been talking about his fried laptop, Oliver didn’t know whether to feel amused or groan,

“Oh yeah,  _ she  _ is just peachy. It’s the 50 page essay that just got fried that I’m more worried about.” Oliver said bitterly, and Felicity looked at him sympathetically, no doubt noticing his more that haggard state of being before pointing at the sticky laptop,

“May I?” Oliver shrugged; she couldn’t really make it worse could she? The employee was still standing in front of Oliver in an awkward limbo. Oliver said, 

“Look man, it’s cool. I don’t really care about the laptop, and it’s not like you can do anything about the essay.” The guy apologized a few times more before cleaning the table with some spare tissues and making a hasty retreat. Oliver turned his attention back to the blonde, who was feeling the backside of his laptop with slim, bright blue nail painted fingers. After a while, she grinned at Oliver with a mega-watt smile,

“The laptop’s a lost cause, but I might be able to salvage the data.” She said, excited. Oliver felt a little bit of his soul return to his body,

“Are you for real?” He asked; hope burning though his throat and coating his voice. The girl nodded and rushed back to her own table, grabbing a beige tote back with a big black mouse-teddy hybrid sketch on it and made her way back to Oliver. They simultaneously sat next to each other, and Oliver silently watched her work her magic. Her fingers took apart her laptop piece by piece with a tool kit she happened to keep on her. After a few minutes of more tinkering, she took apart her own laptop, exchanged a few pieces of hardware, and switched it on. Then, she copied all of his data, (all 48 pages of it, hallelujah) and handed it to him in a USB.

That’s when he realised that he didn’t even know his goddess’s name.

“I’m Oliver by the way, Oliver Queen.” He said, and winced when recognition flashed in her eyes. But she smiled brightly none the less and replied,

“Felicity Smaok.” She handed him the USB and he took it with a grin ready on his lips, 

“You, Felicity Smoak , are remarkable.” She smiled shyly, a pretty pink blush on her cheekbones. 

“Thank you for remarking on it.” She paused before continuing, “Would you mind if I take your ruined laptop with me? I like to scavenge for parts.” She asked, and Oliver thought at the moment, with his future finally again in his sights, he would have given her the moon if she had asked for it.

“On one condition.” He leaned in and she tilted her head in question,

“Have coffee with me?” He got another one of her brilliant smiles in response. And from that day on, he started learning about Felicity Smoak alongside his business degree.

 

He asked her to move in with him after completing his second year in Harvard. She had just finished her first Master’s degree in Computer Sciences. And was going to study for a second one in cyber security whilst also getting a job as a paid intern. They hardly got to spend any time together during the day, and they had basically been living with each other after a few months into their relationship anyway, So, Oliver had decided to save up a bit that month, and gotten a reservation at one of the better restaurants, where after desert, he asked her to get the other half of her stuff in his room too. She agreed with a smile, only if she paid half the rent (He had protested, it’s not like he paid his own rent or anything. But, if there was anybody more stubborn than him, it was Felicity.) 

It didn’t matter anyway. The money he saved on the rent, he spent on their relationship. They went on dates whenever both of them had the time and energy to, and when they didn’t, Oliver burned some candles, cooked some Russian cuisine, and impressed Felicity enough with his cooking and foot rub skills, that by the end of the night, she was a happy puddle of soft adorable goo in his arms. Felicity was the longest and most committed relationship Oliver had ever been a part of. And from the moment he left her at her door step after their first official date, he knew, that if he had any say about it, she would also be his only long and committed relationship.

Oliver had asked Felicity to come back to Starling with him for his Graduation when he got his Bachelor’s degree. But, she was still in the middle of her double masters, and she couldn’t just leave her job. So instead, Oliver spent the weekend after his official Graduation with her, and then left for a week to spend time with the rest of his family.

 

He reached Starling city in the wee hours of the morning on a Tuesday. His dad and mom and Thea had been waiting for him at the airport, and the very first thing he did when he saw his family was wrap his dad in the biggest and the tightest hug he remembers giving him in a long time,

“Thank you, dad. God, I can’t ever thank you enough.” When he pulled back , his father had tears in his eyes,

“I’m so proud of you, son.” His father had said with a shaky breath, and Oliver honestly couldn’t remember when he had heard those words before, if ever. His mom was no different. She pulled him by his cheeks and planted her lips on his temple with a chocked out, “My beautiful boy.” Oliver knew he had changed. He looked more mature now, with shorter hair and a scruff. He was also much more muscular. Hours spent at the gym made sure of that. But more than that, he was much more focussed now. Every struggle felt like a target that he needed to conquer, every responsibility felt like an opportunity to prove himself rather than a burden. He was a new and improved version of himself, and he honestly loved this Oliver much more than the old Ollie.

Felicity had a lot to do with that.

Next he turned to Thea, his beautiful baby sister who was just 12 when he had left her was now a 16 year old young woman. They clung to each other like they hadn’t seen each other in years, even though, Thea was the only one he had kept in contact with, with monthly video calls and regular texting and calls.

He had asked his family not to tell anybody else about his arrival. He didn’t know how exactly he would handle Tommy’s playboy ways or Laurel’s doe eyes (Thea said Laurel still wasn’t truly over him, even though she had dated multiple guys after him.) He wanted the week to be about his family, and then go back home to his partner/girlfriend/better-half/Felicity.

 

He barely left the house during his stay in Starling. Most days were filled with catching up with Queen Consolidated business with his father, all the one percenter’s gossip with his mother. The nights were for survival tip and tricks with Raisa or movie nights and sleepovers with Speedy.

The very first hours of the morning were reserved for Felicity. It was the only time of the day they both could sit still in one place long enough to actually appreciate the calls and soak the other’s presence in. Any day that started with Felicity was a good day in Oliver’s book. It hadn’t been until he had left Felicity’s side for the first time in three years that he realized just how much he depended on her being there so that he could get through his day.

During his last day at dinner, he told his father his plans of getting a Masters degree. He genuinely enjoyed the business world. His three years had taught him that. His dad had been proud, and though Thea was a bit miffed that he would be gone for two more years, she placated a little with promises of more frequent video calls.

After dinner, when everyone had dispersed back into their rooms, he seeked out his mother in her study, she had smiled when he had come in, and asked him to sit,

“I met someone.” He said after clearing his throat. She looked disappointed for a moment, and Oliver rushed to explain before she thought that this woman was some sort of distraction from his studies, “No you don’t understand, Felicity isn’t like that.” Moira’s lip thinned, but she asked anyway,

“Pray tell, what is this Felicity like?” Oliver smiled at just the idea of her in his head,

“Well, she is really smart for one.” He laughed lightly at his mother’s incredulous eyebrow, “She is!” he insisted, “She’s twenty-two, but already has a major in computer sciences, and is studying another in cyber security at the moment.” Her mother’s eyes widened, and Oliver smiled at the pride he felt, “She’s on a scholarship, so no donations either.” Oliver sighed, only slightly lovesick, “She’s also gorgeous. And slightly awkward, but only because her mind is so much more complex that anybody else’s.” He looked at his mother, his eyes soft, “She makes me happy, mom.”

Moira’s features softened. She had noticed the clam around her son when he had first hugged her. The new surety in his moments. And now she knew who was responsible for it all.

“How long have you known her?”

“We met two years ago. Started dating almost immediately. I asked her to move in with me during the end of my second year there, and we’ve been living together since. Splitting rent and everything. Like actual adults.” Oliver grinned at her mother’s stunned expression. The last time he had had a proper conversation with her, he was still that spoiled brat who associated commitment with confinement. And yet, commitment with Felicity felt more like freedom than anything else. It felt like moving forward and growing up. That is why he had come to his mother tonight. To take another step forward.

“Oh honey, why didn’t you bring her with you to meet the family?”

“I did ask, actually. But Felicity is in the middle of her second semester. Also, she can’t really just leave her job. Interns usually don’t get much leeway for holidays.” Moira smiled. The girl was responsible too above everything else. It almost felt like Oliver had met his other half during his college life,

“She sounds wonderful, Oliver.” Oliver bit his lip and slid his phone over the table to her, his lock screen on full display, Moira saw a radiant blond woman standing in front of her son, a mint green sundress flowing beautifully down her petite frame as Oliver’s hands all but covered her ribcage. They were both grinning wildly. Felicity towards the camera, and Oliver towards the woman herself. The stadium behind them and matching ball caps on their heads suggested they were at a baseball game. It was good to know that at least Oliver’s less destructive habits and interests hadn’t changed. Moira had never seen her son this happy with anyone before. And yet here he was with Felicity. Felicity with her clear eyes and pink lips and red cheeks looking like the sun glowed from inside her. The photo brought a smile to Moira’s face as well,

“Oh, she is beautiful, Oliver. And you two look so very happy together.”

“I want to marry her, mom.” Moira looked at her baby boy with tears in her eyes. How much he had grown in just a few years. “It’s one of the reasons for finally coming back here. I was wondering if we could go to the vault tomorrow and get Grandma Ester’s engagement ring?”

“Oh yes, absolutely yes. Oh this is wonderful, Oliver!” Moira stood to cross the distance between them, and Oliver followed her lead. “Oh you have grown so much. I’m so proud.”

 

Oliver returned back to Felicity the next day with his heart filled with love for his blood family, and a new mission to gain another member in Felicity. The black box sat heavy in his pocket, but he didn’t dare propose till she had completed her finals and was on term break. He had been dreaming of the proposal for years. Some of those ideas were just wishful thinking on his part, but some he was determined to make come true.

In the end, he went for the sentimental route and proposed to her in the same coffee shop where they had met. He had called her that afternoon and asked her to meet him at the same place around 3 o’clock. Then, he had taken apart his computer piece by piece having watched Felicity do it a hundred times before, and placed the ring with a baby blue post it asking ‘Marry Me?’ where the internal hard drive should have been. After assembling everything back in its place again, he asked one of the employees to do him a favour and spill a latte on it when he gave the signal. The guy looked at him like he was mental, but shrugged anyway.

He signalled the guy into action when he heard the bell above the door chime, and Felicity entered the place with a nostalgic smile. Oliver grinned back, laptop opened in front of him. Just as Felicity was about to reach him, one of the employees crashed the table and spilled the latte all over the laptop.

Oliver is proud to say that he faked the devastated look pretty well. Felicity was shocked, but when she saw how upset Oliver was, (wink, wink) she placed her hand on his arm and said with a sweet smile,

“I can fix this, remember.”

Oliver gave her a relieved smile. And Felicity took the sticky laptop from him, taking out her toolkit from her (what he now knew was a) Totoro tote bag. It took her a few minutes to open the whole thing up, but when she saw the ring and the note, her breath hitched. Oliver took the time to get down on one knee, mindful of the camera he had placed strategically to behind the plant to send the video to Thea so that she could see his master plan, 

“Felicity Smoak.” Felicity looked at him with tears in her eyes, nodding already even though he wasn’t really done yet, “You are without a doubt the most remarkable woman I have ever met.” She half-sobbed laughed, “And I am so, so lucky to have found you.” He took the ring from where it sat on the laptop, holding it up, “You make me a better man, a better person, a better me. You make me want to give you the world and everything in it.” She sniffled, fingers brushing the tears of her cheek, “But most of all, you make me happy. And I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you just as happy.” And great, now Oliver was crying too. “So what do you say, Felicity? Will you make me the happiest man on the face of this earth?”

“Yes!” She sobbed out, and followed him to where he was kneeling on the floor. “God, yes.” She said as she wrapped her arms sound his neck. He grinned and got up, pulling her up with him,

“Yeah?” He confirmed, and she nodded against his chest. He pulled away just enough to place the ring on her finger, and she cried harder when she saw it on her left hand, before burying her face in his shoulder again, 

“I love you.” Her voice was still thick, she swallowed, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He whispered back, “More than anything.”

 

She had squealed when she found out that he had recorded the whole proposal, and he had found her watching it on repeat when he woke up cuddled up next to her the next morning. 

Thea had come to Cambridge with Moira and Robert for spring break solely to meet her brother’s fiancé. She was going to stay with the couple at their modest two-bedroom apartment while her parents booked a hotel suite for themselves. She didn’t really know what to expect of Felicity. She had seen a few pictures of her and Ollie together, and Felicity was definitely Barbie-pretty. And according to Ollie, she was also super smart. But they hadn’t even talked to each other before because Oliver usually called her from campus, saying that when he gets home, he likes to spend as much time as he can with Felicity, seeing as they are already so busy.

Thea doesn’t mind. But, things were different now. Now, Felicity was Oliver’s fiancé. That meant that she was part of the family. So, she rightfully felt that some sister-bonding time was long overdue.

Turns out, Felicity is not only pretty and smart but, she’s also goddamn adorable, and pretty much the opposite of her now mostly-stoic faced brother. She seems to be the only one capable of bringing the biggest of grins on his face, and it’s almost ridiculous how much Ollie just can’t stop touching her. Felicity is a nice person, and she makes her brother happy. That alone would have been enough for Thea to approve, but then she realized that Felicity was also quite into fashion (not as deep as Thea, but she definetly cared about her outfits enough to know about the trends and the brands she was following, which was a lot considering most of Ollie’s old flings, even after being supermodels, couldn’t really dress themselves properly without a stylist.) So, now Thea also had a common ground with Felicity. And that, in her opinion, made the woman the best possible sister-in-law.

 

Felicity found a common link to connect her conversations with their parents too. She and Robert talked extensively about the stock market and exchange rates, while she discussed ancient art and classic literature with Moira. Thea had absolutely no idea how Felicity could keep up with all these different types of conversations during one dinner. So, once they were alone (Mom and Dad had wanted to Discuss Ollie’s future in QC with him, and Thea and Felicity were left to clean up the kitchen) Thea asked her about it,

“Oh.” Felicity blushed, scratching the side of her temple in nervousness, “I’m a nerd, through and through, and the high IQ level kind of guaranteed that I wouldn’t have too much of a social life amongst my peers, so all my free time was usually spent on reading. A lot. Even now, when Oliver usually goes out with his friends for a guy’s night out, I usually spend my free time either in front of the TV, or reading up random stuff on stock markets, or finding out what’s new in the fashion industry.”

Thea’s impressed, because at this point Felicity feels like she’s kind of perfect, except that absence of brain-to-mouth filter and general lack of social skills. That woman can’t make small talk to save her life. It’s one of the reasons why the start of the dinner was so awkward before Oliver broke the silence by diving into the deeper stuff. Maybe her brother did something extraordinary in his previous life. Maybe he was a superhero and this is the universe’s way of making it up to him, because god knows he must have done something right to make Felicity fall hopelessly in love with him.

And she is hopelessly in love with him. They both are. With each other. Everybody always told Thea that people’s ideas of love are usually always influenced by their parent’s relationship, and yet here she is, hoping that maybe one day she too will find someone who will love her like these two love each other. And for a moment the idea is so absurd, because from the moment Thea has been able to speak in full sentences, she’s known Oliver as the kind of guy who really doesn’t ever make women his priority. And yet here he is, looking at Felicity sitting beside him on the table, as if she’s the single most precious thing left on planet earth. It makes her want to puke and cry at the same time.

Thea can’t wait to become an aunt. Their kids are going to be absolutely amazing. Pretty and attractive, definetly. But, also smart and stubborn. Funny and charming. And they are going to be spoiled rotten by her. She spends the next few days taking Felicity on lunch dates, whilst she takes Thea to all the good thrift stores. (You kind of end up having to find all these rare places that are both cheap and good in quality when you are a college student on a scholarship.)

All in all Thea really loves the spring break that she spent in Cambridge.

 

Felicity and Oliver graduate from their respective post graduations a week apart from one another. Felicity takes the job offered to her by Kord industries as the head of applied sciences division whilst Oliver starts his job at QC by shadowing his father’s CEO responsibilities. They both move into the more private west-wing of the Queen Mansion, and it’s not until everything is settled a few days later does Oliver let the news of his return leave the confines of his home.

The first person to visit, after the news hits, is of course, Tommy Merlyn. His best friend since his diaper days. Also the guy he hasn’t talked to in about 5 years. When they do meet though, it’s as if the gap of those five years doesn’t really exist between them at all. Tommy comes into the lounge of the Mansion with his arms wide open and a wider smile on his face,

“Oliver Queen, As I live and breathe…” Oliver grins, the playfulness of his past making him feel nostalgic,

“Tommy Merlyn, My man. How’ve you been?” He moves to close the distance between them, hugging the guy tightly before pulling himself back with two pats on the back. Tommy might not be someone who Oliver would consciously make friends with at this point of time, but the two of them still share a hell lot of memories, and there is no way you can cut someone so deeply ingrained in your past from your life. And honestly, Oliver doesn’t want to. Because under all that careless-play boy –persona, Tommy is a good guy. He’s had Oliver’s back through the worst of times, and knows Oliver better than most people. Maybe not now, five years later, but in the past, Tommy has always been Oliver’s confident, and a part of him desperately wants them to reconcile. Learn each other’s differences and maybe even form a closer bond than before.

“Oliver?” A soft, slightly sleepy voice asks, and he turns around to find Felicity standing at the door frame, wearing only his shirt (it’s big enough against her petite frame to easily reach her mid-thigh), and a ridiculous pair of shark night sleepers. She looks beautiful with messy hair, and pillow crease on her left cheek, her eyes are squinty because of the lack of glasses, and Oliver really wants to pull her to him, and kiss her senseless.

“Hey, You sleep okay?” He motions for her to walk over beside him, and Tommy looks her over curiously, eyes slightly darker than they were before. Oliver knows she makes an incredibly sexy image right about now, and he pulls her to him by her waist so that she is practically glued to his side. It’s another thing he has discovered about himself ever since dating Felicity Smoak. He can get easily jealous, and extremely possessive when it comes to her. Usually, she indulges his ‘cave man’ (Her words not his) attitude. But, most of the time, she swats his chest and glares at him saying she can take care of herself. And noticing her raised eyebrow now, he knows that he will have to back down if he doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of her Loud Voice.

Tommy looks between the two of them for only a moment before grinning salaciously over Felicity’s half naked form and winking at Oliver,

“Thea told me you had changed, Not too much, I see.”

Oliver felt his blood boil, and he turned to place a kiss on Felicity’s forehead before turning to Tommy,

“Felicity, This is Tommy Merlyn, my childhood best friend.” Oliver turned to Tommy with a mocking grin, “Tommy, This is Felicity Smaok. She’s my fiancé.”

Felicity smiled serenely, though Oliver could see how guarded her eyes were. They had discussed it a little, how people from Oliver’s past would expect him to be the worst version of himself, and Felicity was more than ready to face the back lash,

“It’s nice to meet you, Tommy. Oliver’s told me a lot about you.” Tommy is still staring at the ring on her left out-stretched hand, and Felicity brings it back to her side awkwardly when he doesn’t shake it. She looks at Oliver, not sure what to do about his frozen friend, only to see him smiling smugly at the other guy.

“I think we broke him.” Oliver suggests, a laugh threatening to bubble up his throat. Felicity is acutely aware that she’s still in her sleep clothes, and still hasn’t had any breakfast. She clears her throat, and peels herself away from Oliver’s side, giving one last glace to Tommy, who’s now looking between her and Oliver with a blank look in his face,

“I’m gonna go put on some real clothes, and get some food in my tummy.” She tells Oliver, “You… deal with him.” Felicity walks out of the room, but not before another peck on the lips and a mumbled, ‘I’ll join you in a minute.’ from her fiancé.

“Tommy.” When Oliver’s voice doesn’t seem like it’s going through, He speaks louder, “TOMMY!” Tommy jerks as if he’s had ice cold water poured all over him, “I’m engaged. It’s not the end of the world.”

“ _ Not the end of the world?!” _ He splutters, “Ollie, somehow in these five years you were away, you got two business degrees, you found a girl, dated her, fell in love, started living together, and proposed. And I, your best friend for over 20 years, missed all of it!!”

Oliver’s eyes soften, It must be hard to imagine, that the guy you thought you knew so well, could disappear for a few years, and come back completely different. But Oliver knows that at his very core, he’s really not all that different. He’s still the same guy he was five years ago, maybe a bit more responsible, and a hell of a lot stable, but the same guy essentially.

“I’m still the same person, Tommy.” Oliver says, and grabs his friend’s shoulder, “I am. I still care about my family just as much as I used to. I still obsess over baseball  and wrestling. I still hate garlic, and still don’t have enough patience for fishing.” Tommy’s eyes are glistening slightly at the end of his monologue, “I’m still your best-friend. Just a non-alcoholic, one-woman man best friend.” Tommy nods a little, and discreetly wipes at his eyes before grinning manically at his best friend,

“I can live with that.” He says and with another shared smile, they both make their way to the kitchen, seeing as Oliver himself hasn’t had breakfast yet. Felicity is sitting on one of the stools when they enter. She’s still wearing his shirt, but she also has one of her yoga pants on. She’s so focussed on both her tablet and making sure that the next bite of her pancakes go inside her mouth, that she doesn’t even notice them coming.

Tommy clears his throat, and Felicity’s face shoots up,

“Hey, Sorry about earlier. It was just a pretty big surprise.” Tommy says with a sheepish smile, and Felicity returns it with a grin of her own. Oliver goes to the fridge, grabs all the ingredients he needs to make himself a bowl of oatmeal,

“I don’t mind.” Felicity smiles kindly and walkes over to where Tommy is standing. She’s much more presentable now. Hair in a slick pony-tail and glasses perched on her nose. Her whole person is a delicious middle between professional and sleep-casual, and Oliver can’t seem to be able to look away. Ever since he has met Felicity, he has barely ever been able to look away. “Hi. I’m Felicity Smoak. Oliver’s secret fiancé.” She introduces herself again with a teasing glint in her eyes, and it makes Tommy chuckle,

“Tommy Merlyn. Oliver’s best friend for a bit over two decades.” He takes her out-stretched hand this time, and plants a kiss at the back of his knuckles, making Felicity giggle.

They acquaint themselves with each other over breakfast, sharing stories of how they met Oliver and all the embarrassing things the guy in question has done in his past. Oliver huffs and puffs, but he’s also fighting of a smile at seeing how the love of his life and his best friend for the longest time are getting along so well right from the start.

“So,” Tommy continues, once the three of them are done with breakfast, “We should celebrate. It’s been five years since you’ve been back. Let’s show your fiancé some good Starling sights!” Oliver raises an eyebrow at that,

“What did you have in mind?” Tommy shrugs, pretending to look nonchalant,

“Oh you know, Max Fuller just opened a club. Poison. Supposed to be the next best thing since sliced bread.” Oliver snorted,

“Max Fuller?” At Tommy’s nod, Oliver shakes his head, “Dude, I slept with his fiancé.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he shoots a panicked look at Felicity, not sure if he should apologize or not. But, Felicity’s eyes are filled with barely suppressed mirth, and she looks like she might be trying to hold off a laugh,

“His fiancé? Really?” 

“I was an idiot back then.” Oliver says at the same time Tommy agrees with a nod and a “It was at the rehersal dinner.”

Oliver grimaces, “Yeah, we are not going there. God knows what he’ll do when he finds out  _ I _ have a fiancé.”

Felicity rolls her eyes, “Hon, just because his fiancé slept with you, doesn’t mean your fiancé will sleep with him.”

“I know that!” Oliver replies, voice slightly high-pitched and slightly indignant, “Doesn’t mean he won’t try though!” Felicity sighs,

“Well, as much as I love the Queen Manor, because believe me, I do. We’ve been cooped up in this place for days now.” She sidles up to Oliver, resting her chin on his shoulder and looking up at him with her best puppy-dog eyes, “I want to go clubbing. Dance and drink and make out with you in questionably public places.” She bats her eyes, and just like that, Oliver sighs in defeat, “Please?” She adds like a cherry on the top.

“Fine.” Oliver gets out through gritted teeth. After all, a man can only resist so much, and Oliver has never been able to resist Felicity.

“Great!” Felicity chirped and with a peck on his cheeks, moved to place all the dishes in the sink. Oliver looks at Tommy to find with staring at him with raised brows,

“What?” Oliver grouches, and Tommy snorts, half in amusement and half in disbelief,

“Man, you are beyond whipped.” Oliver let out a defeated sigh, a small smile forming his lips without his consent,

“Don’t I know it?”

 

The rest of the day, Oliver spends with Tommy playing video games in the south-east wing, while Felicity takes Thea with her for dress shopping. In the previous years, Oliver has learned a lot about Felicity. One such thing being, she will try and buy cheapest groceries and food in general that she can find, only so that she can indulge on her monthly shopping trips. Felicity loves shoes. Be it cute panda flats, or classy leather boots, or slinky stilettos. She will compromise everything other than the speed of her internet to fulfil her need to get cute shoes or dresses. And Oliver always waits half in anticipation, half in apprehension for her to return from her shopping trips (that are more like pilgrimages) for her to show him whatever she bought, excited at the prospect of a private show while at the same time trying to quell the possessiveness that bursts out at the thought of anyone else seeing her in those killer heels or figure-hugging dresses.

 

They all regroup back in the living room at 8, and Thea pleads to come along, but she’s 17. And Oliver is planning on getting drunk with his fiancé one last time before stepping into a life of responsibilities that will no doubt surround him as soon as he starts his work at QC, so he refuses and she pouts for ten minutes until she realises that he isn’t going to budge, at which point, she leaves with the 7 of her shopping bags stating that ‘she had better plans anyway.’

Felicity goes on to their room to dress up, but Oliver doesn’t bother. He’s already in one of his good pair of designer jeans and a pressed dark grey button-down. So, he uses the time instead to ask Tommy what all he’s missed in the five years he’s been gone,

“Oh man, where do I even start!” Tommy grins, rubbing his hands like a maniac, “Remember McKenna Hall from high school? The jock-chick who you had a crush on  and the one who had a crush on you, but you never dated cause you were dating Laurel?” At Oliver’s nod, Tommy continues, “She’s a police officer now. Works in the same precinct as Detective Lance, actually.”

Oliver raises an eyebrow, but he’s not really surprised. McKenna has always been the tough-kid. Going down on the field and getting up without even an ‘ouch’, or sticking up for the weak kids whilst threatening the jocks. If it wasn’t for the blush she sported every time Oliver as much as smiled at her, he would have thought she had no feelings what so ever.

Tommy then proceeds to tell him all about Carter Bowen, and the list of all of his accomplishments in the last five years is so long, Oliver is slumped on the couch and bored out of his mind before Tommy is done with it. Then, Tommy says something the pulls Oliver back to attention,

“Also, Laurel is still not over you.”

“What the hell are you talking about? It’s been five years!”

“Yeah, and you guys were dating on and off all the way from 8 th grade to senior year. That woman needs some closure, man.” Oliver feels slightly guilty now. Him and Laurel never really had the whole ‘let’s break up’ talk. He had just assumed that seeing as he was going away to university for at least 3 years then and won’t be allowed any contact with his old friends, that they would break up. He considered himself single from the minute he got on the plane to Cambridge, till the moment his and Felicity’s first date ended at her door step with his lips pressed to her cheek.

Before he can say anything in reply, the familiar sound of heels clicking against the marble of the staircase makes him turn around to stare helplessly at the beauty making her way towards him. His fiancé is dressed in a short gold dress, hair curled and on point. She’s wearing one of his favourite silver stiletto heels, and clutching a golden clutch that contrasts nicely with the diamond ring on her left finger. He grins at her, the breathlessness he suddenly feels has become incredibly familiar over the years. But, he can also feel Tommy’s eyes from beside him fixated on his Felicity, so he hits him at the back of his head to make him stop staring, all the while keeping his own eyes on his future,

“You look amazing.” Felicity blushes, tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiles at him bashfully, “Thank you.”

“Damn Smoak, You sure do clean up good.” At Felicity’s raised eyebrow, and Oliver’s glare, he hastens to add, “Add I say that in the most respectful way possible.” Felicity gives him a small close-lipped smile,

“Thank you, Tommy.”

 

They make their way to the town car waiting for them outside the mansion. Tommy gets in first, followed by Felicity and lastly, Oliver. This is Oliver’s first public outing in Starling in a little over five years now. And his first public outing outside of Cambridge with Felicity. There is definitely going to be Paparazzis in front of the club, seeing as according to Tommy, it is currently the hottest place in the city. He’s ready to face the citizens of his city, though. Ready to show them the new and improved Oliver Queen. And educated and committed, (and in Felicity’s words, ‘much more attractive’) version of Oliver Queen.

Tommy gets out first when they reach the club. And the paps gather around their car like hungry bees when they see the playboy billionaire. Oliver can tell the Felicity is slightly overwhelmed by the tapping of her feet, but she hides it well. Oliver get’s out next from the opposite side of the car, and the camera flashes seem to increase 10 times more. He turns to Felicity, ignoring the crowd they have gathered, and lends her a hand. She places her left hand in his, and when he tucks her at his side while they walk towards the club, he makes sure the ring is in plain sight. The last thing he wants is for people to think that Felicity is just some girl he thought he would spend time with for a night. From the way the reporters trample over each other to ask questions, Oliver thinks that the mission is accomplished. Still, he places his lips on her hair, a sappy, romantic kiss on her head, completely out of character from the old Ollie, but something he now finds himself doing more and more.

No one can really blame him though. Felicity’s hair is like spun gold silk, and it smells heavenly.

The bouncer let’s them through without waiting in line, and Oliver practically feels his fiancé’s apprehension of the reporters give way to the excitement of a stress-free night at a club. Oliver tightens his hold on her when he surveys the heavy crowd, and in return, Felicity wraps her own arm around his mid-section, her hands finding their regular spot inside the back pocket of his jeans.

Tommy has his arm slung around Oliver’s shoulder as he guides them both to the bar for drinks. Felicity orders herself a glass of their finest red wine, while Oliver goes for scotch. Tommy orders himself Tequila Sunrise. They’d just been catching up on telling Tommy about the frat parties Oliver and Felicity did attend together, when they could afford to, when a guy makes his way through the crowd towards their group. The man’s in his late twenties, with jet black hair and chocolate brown eyes that shine with something hard when they meet Oliver’s. He surveys Felicity up and down before raising a brow at the hand Oliver has slung over her shoulder. He offers her a hand,

“Hi. I’m Max Fuller.” Felicity’s brows go up to her hairline,

“The club owner, I presume.” Felicity says as she places her hand in his, “I’m Felicity Smoak.” Max is in the process of bringing the back of Felicity’s hand to his lips when he notices the ring glittering under the club lights on her finger. He freezes. Before he can say anything, Oliver gently pulls Felicity’s hand from his, instead intertwining their fingers instead. Max Fuller glares at him,

“I see you’re planning on getting hitched, Queen.” He hisses, before turning to Felicity with a raised brow, “Did you know that your fiancé slept with my ex-wife?” He asks mockingly, and whatever reaction he expected, it clearly wasn’t an equally mocking frown on Felicity’s lips,

“I thought it was an ex-fiancé at the rehearsal dinner?” She turns to Tommy in question, but Tommy’s too busy grinning from ear to ear, because he just now seems to be realizing just how awesome Felicity actually is. Anybody else in her shoes would feel at least slightly irritated, or maybe even insecure. But, Felicity seems to be having fun with the whole situation. She takes all of Oliver’s past mistakes and experiences in stride. Knowing the kind of man she fell in love with, and acknowledging the man he was before he met her. Whilst also being confident in the knowledge that Oliver isn’t the same man any more, and that he would never hurt her in any way possible.

Tommy never expected Oliver to meet the perfect woman for him before Tommy met his. But, he’s so happy for his friend that he did. Felicity is strong. He can already tell even after knowing her for half a day. And Oliver needs someone strong. To support him, guide him, help him. And Felicity seems very good at that.

 

Once Max Fuller leaves with an irritated eye-roll, Oliver extends his hand to Felicity in an invitation to dance. She takes it with a squeal. Felicity loves dancing, but more than that, she loves dancing with Oliver. He’s always so big, and he always smells so good, having him so close to her as they move to the beat of the music and press their lips to any exposed skin on the other’s body is completely worth the pain in her ankles and the sweat of the crowd.

Clubbing isn’t something they did often during college. In fact, it was more of a celebratory thing. While Oliver and Felicity frequented fancy restaurants for their regular dates, Clubs were left for occasions like anniversaries or end of semester exams. And now they’ve stepped into the real world, and they’ll be starting new jobs from Monday, so it feels like a good enough occasion for a dance or three.

When they get back to the bar, a good half hour later, both of them are grinning like idiots and sweating like pigs. Oliver has red lipstick all over his jaw line, and Felicity is pretty sure, her hair is a wild mess judging by the number of times her fiancé ran his hands through it. Basically, they’re a hot mess and they are so beyond caring for just this one night that they don’t even completely notice the woman Tommy is talking to till they’re already next to him at the bar.

Laurel is wearing a tan coat and knee-length boots. She doesn’t look like she came for a night of fun, but she does have a shot glass in her hand, so Oliver can only presume, it’s one of her rare nights of letting slightly loose, because she’s too stressed to continue concentrating on the new case. His smile dims only slightly at the sight of her, because as much as Oliver wanted to avoid talking to Laurel for as long as possible, he still has a warm, tipsy, giggling Felicity in his arms, who’s squirming in his arms to pull away or push closer, he can’t be too sure, but she’s adorable, and warm (as he previously stated) so the smile stays glued to his face even as he greets laurel who’s looking at him with narrowed eyes,

“Hey, Laurel. Meet Felicity, my fiancé. Felicity, this is Laurel.” Felicity sobers slightly at the name, but still smiles as she extends her hand to the other woman, 

“Hi, Laurel. It’s nice to meet you.”

But Laurel doesn’t acknowledge her. Instead, she stares at Oliver with shock overtaking her features,

“Fiancé?” She gasps, “You’re getting married?” She sounds slightly dizzy, which does nothing for the disbelieving tone in her voice. 

Oliver suddenly feels like he’s swollen a lemon. Because he can remember her proposing commitment to him after they graduated. Hinting towards buying an apartment together, or getting a pet, or even a plant after comparing their relationship to her other friends’ who had started living together, or were even engaged to their S.Os. He and Laurel dated each other for almost 4 years. But, he was never faithful, or responsible, or committed. Maybe it was because he wasn’t old enough, or maybe it was because Laurel wasn’t Felicity, but Oliver had never been able to see a future with Laurel, whereas, with Felicity, Oliver is always left craving for more. He’s the one who asked her to move in with him. He’s the one who felt giddily happy when she brought a fern for their new shared apartment. He remembers watering it diligently twice everyday so that it had a long life. He remembers planning a proposal only half a year into their relationship. Remembers waiting impatiently for her to give him a sign, to give him a hint that she too, saw a future with him. He remembers going to his mother for the engagement ring, and proposing.

But, most of all, he remembers how eagerly Felicity had said yes to all the milestones they had crossed. He remembers feeling more and more lighter every time their lives intertwined with each others in a new way. And even now, only a few months into their engagement, he finds himself thinking about their wedding, about their domesticated life, about two kids with his dirty blonde hair, and her pretty blue eyes running around the mansion, or the back yard, or the QC office, or their bedroom.

He dreams so much, and the future always feels so reachable with Felicity at his side, he feels guilty for not being able to see it when he was with Laurel. Still, he smiles, because this is their one night out before they get sucked into the real world, and the last thing he wants is to ruin it for either him, or Felicity.

“Yes. We met in Cambridge three years ago and have been engaged for a few months now.” Laurel’s eyes are as wide as saucers, but Oliver forgets all about her shock when he looks at Felicity smiling wildly at him. He loves how happy being engaged to him makes her. Loves how she’s just as giddy as him at the idea of spending the rest of their lives together. When Oliver looks back up, Laurel is glaring, and before he even knows what’s happening, she’s already snatched a glass of beer from a stranger sitting at the bar and splashed it over Oliver’s face and torso.

“WOAH!” Felicity exclaims and makes a move to step towards Laurel, but Oliver’s tightened grip on her waist stops her from moving. She looks up at him to find him shaking his head, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. Oliver tried to be civil, but he smells of beer, and Laurel looks like she’s about to tear someone’s hair off, and Felicity has the beginnings of angry tears forming in the corners of her eyes, which somehow never fall, but always makes her look so sad, and furious, it makes Oliver’s heart burn. The night is ruined and Oliver just wants to go home now. Go home, take a shower with Felicity and fall asleep beside her, while trying to calm her anger with strategic kisses and caresses over the exposed skin of her neck and back.

“It’s alright. I kind of deserve that.” He mumbles, but Felicity vehemently shakes her head no,

“No, you really don’t.” All the buzz of the alcohol seems to have left her body, leaving her stiff and her back ramrod straight. Oliver grimaces, but doesn’t reply. Instead, he turns to Tommy, who’s gently trying to hold Laurel back,

“We’re going to go home now. Thanks for this. It was really fun.” Oliver tells him, and Tommy nods dumbly, wondering how he can feel so confined even though only minutes ago he was having the time of his life with his best friend and his best friend's future missus. Felicity sighs besides Oliver, and stands on her tip toes to peck Tommy on his cheek in good-bye. He gives her a half-distracted, half-concerned smile, and Felicity returns it with a reassuring one. She knew what she was getting into when she agreed to date, and then marry Oliver Queen. Pissy ex-girlfriends are a thing of past for him, but they are always going to be there. And honestly? A future with Oliver is worth every single past bitchy conquest Oliver slept with. Felicity would gladly take his side against any one of them.

The ride back to home in uncomfortable, because now the whole town car reeks of alcohol, and Felicity is trying not to curse at whatever god is responsible for ruining their one free night. Tomorrow, everything is going to be hectic. Felicity is going to start working in the Applied Sciences Division of Kord Industries while Oliver will start Shadowing his father for the future CEO position. They will have to face the press for an official announcement of their engagement. Moira’s already planning a pretty elaborate party for the occasion. Tomorrow, is the first day of the rest of their lives together, and all she had wanted was this one stress-free night before all the responsibilities and obligations came crashing down on them all at the same time.

They don’t talk once they reach home, but when they’re in their room, and Oliver has stripped of the sticky button-down, he spreads his hands in a silent gesture for a hug, and she obliges immediately,

“I’m sorry about tonight.” He whispers in her hair. She shakes her head,

“It’s not your fault.” She pauses, and then corrects herself, “Well, not this-you’s fault. More like the past-you’s fault. Can’t do anything about you being a bit of a dick in the past.” Oliver manages to huff out a laugh even though his grip on Felicity tightens,

“And you’ll still marry me?” He asks in a small voice. Felicity pulls away just enough that she’s looking at him dead in the eye,

“A thousand times. Absolutely.” Oliver gives her that rare brilliant smile of his, and she finds herself melting,

“Well then, As long as it’s a yes, no matter what happens, I’m good.”

“Me too. I’m also good.” 

“Good.” Oliver mouthed before pulling her over to the bathroom. 

 

When Oliver wakes up the next day, the space beside him on the bed is empty. He had become used to having a warm body beside him for the past week, but he can hear the shower running, so he’s not too disappointed. Instead, he closes his eyes and waits for the door to open, and for Felicity to come out in nothing but a towel, with water dripping down from the tips of her hair. It’s his second favourite sight to wake up to every morning, the first being seeing her sleeping in his arms with her hair all over the pillow (and occasionally in his mouth) and her cold feet pressed against his sleep-warm calves.

As if on cue, the shower stops running, and a few moments later, Felicity comes out, gloriously nude, with her towel wrapped around her hair, Oliver checks her out with sleepy half-lidded eyes, and smirks as he says,

“Please don’t dress on my account.” Felicity jumps, before throwing Oliver a pointed stare as she slides open the gigantic closet that’s long enough to be built in at least half of the room’s wall. “You could always come back to bed, baby.”

“You’ll have to excuse me this one time.” Felicity replies, not even looking at him, but ruffling through her side of the closet, “I only have an hour to reach the office, and honestly have no time for even a quickie.” She takes out three dresses and turns to look at him, “And honestly, we’ve never been able to manage a quick enough quickie.”

“True enough.” Oliver concedes as he pushes himself back so that he’s leaning on the head board. 

“What do you think? Which one should I wear?” She holds up the dresses she’s chosen. There’s a peach blouse with a black pencil skirt combo that he knows she wore often during her internship. The next is a figure hugging grey dress with orange blocks printed on the side. The thirds Oliver’s favourite. It’s deep red pencil skirt with a white shirt having flowy sleeves and a thin black bow at the neck. He suggests that one.

“Good choice.” Felicity agrees with a nod and places the other two back in the closet before opening the drawers for a pair of dark green lace under wear. Oliver groans when he sees what she’ll be wearing underneath, and she gives him a cheeky wink in response.

She slips them on and walks over to him slowly so as to give him a peck, but Oliver grabs her hand before she can completely pull away,

“Mrs. Queen, you are such a tease.” He breaths out and she bites his lower lip,

“Future Mrs. Queen.” She teasingly corrects,

“Pretty-much-already Mrs. Queen.” He retaliates, making her laugh.

She pulls herself back and blow-dries her hair before dressing. At this point, Oliver feels like he should get up too, so he makes his way to the bathroom for a quick shower while Felicity styles her hair and does her make-up.

She’s starting on her mascara when he comes out, her natural curls straightened and pulled into a sleek ponytail. She stops momentarily when he comes out, and he smirks as her dark eyes travel down his freshly-showered towel-clad body,

“You sure you don’t have time for a quickie, Mrs. Queen?” She glares at him, and it takes an adorable amount of effort on her part to look up at his eyes from where she’d been staring at his abs,

His smirk widens as he turns around, and feeling her eyes on him, he drops the towel.

It’s his time to hear her groan now.

He wears his suit as she finishes her makeup, and they walk out of their room at the same time, her strappy black four-inch heels making click-clack sounds on the marble in synchrony to his own baser sounds of his Italian shoes.

 

Thea and his dad are already at the table in the lounge room when the couple joins them. Raisa had made the usual breakfast spread with waffles and pancakes and oat meal and sausages. It took a while for Felicity to get adjusted to such elaborate choices in food every day, and during her first days in the mansion, she had found herself stuffed so thoroughly, she had just gone back to bed after breakfast for a full-tummy nap. Now, she just eats whatever Oliver eats, just in smaller Felicity-sized portions, and she’s fine.

Moira comes in just as Felicity is scraping her plate clean. They exchange ‘good mornings’ before Felicity grabs her bag and her tablet. With one last kiss to Oliver, she takes the to-go coffee mug from Raisa and goes over to the garage where the cherry red mini-cooper she recently bought is being kept.

Kord industries in a 50 floor sky-scraper that’s a bit more flashy than the Queen Consolidated building. And the CEO has dedicated the whole of the 48 th floor to Felicity and her team in the applied sciences division for their experiments and test projects. She has her own office too. With one wall painted a cool mint-green and the other three being glass. She takes a seat behind the modern steel and glass table on the comfortable leather chair. Her EA, Jerry Conway, was like a ray of light amongst the darkness that was the unknown waters of the business world.

Her first day is nerve-raking, but not because she doubts her skills in the technical department. More like because she knows she lacks the social skills to lead a team of seven people of vastly different ideas and creative skill set. She knows she’s going to screw up. In fact, she’s expecting it. Therefore, it’s slightly surprising to find her teammates just as awkward as her. Zari and Kaitlyn don’t talk too much. Barry and Cisco are best friends, but more than that, they’re also utter geeks so she can hold a conversation with them as easy as breathing. Ray keeps flirting with her, even after seeing the ring on her finger, and Mick calls her pony tail and scoffs at everything she says, even though she thinks she’s earned his respect at the end of their meeting after babbling for ten minutes about the kind of code she wants to implement for their first project.

Her favourite however, so far is Curtis Holt. He’s tall, athletic, and a complete cinnamon roll. They get along like butter and bread to the point that five minutes in and they’re completing each other’s sentences. By the time lunch break starts, He’s invited her and her S.O for brunch with him and his husband the next weekend.

Lunch brings Oliver at her office with a paper bag in one hand and a fern in the other. Jerry peers into her office, a frown on his face as he looks confusedly at Felicity,

“Oliver Queen is here. With lunch.” He pauses for a moment, “Do you want me to send him away?” He says softly enough so that nobody but her hears him. The gossip magazines that printed the picture of Oliver Queen with his ‘secret fiancé’ were not yet able to identify the mysterious blonde because Felicity had kept her head down like Thea had suggested, so their relationship is still very hush-hush.

Not anymore though. Felicity smiles, wide and happy, “Actually, send him in, please. I’ll be taking my lunch break now.”

Jerry nods hesitantly and Felicity gets up from behind her desk as Oliver enters the room with both his hands full,

“Hey.” Oliver smiles at her and meets her halfway to give her a peck and depositing the paper bag in her waiting hands, “Your office is nice.” He continues as he looks around and Felicity slightly bounces on her feet in excitement,

“Isn’t it?!” She squeals excitedly, “And all the people in my team are so nice! Well, except maybe Mick, but we’re getting there, I think. And Ray’s a bit creepy, but oh well. Also, I think I met my soul mate today!” Oliver raises a teasing eyebrow,

“I thought I, as your future husband was supposed to be your soul mate.” She dismisses him with a wave of her hand, 

“Yes, but Curtis is practically me, but like a better version.” Oliver disagrees with a shake of his head,

“Not possible. You’re perfect.”

“Well yeah, you have to say that. You’re marrying me.” Felicity says, “But Curtis is both smart  _ and _ athletic. He’s like the whole package.”

“He?” Oliver stiffens slightly, even though there’s still enough amusement in his eyes that Felicity knows he isn’t seriously feeling jealous.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Curtis. There’s a better chance of him finding you attractive than me. Besides, I don’t think his husband would approve.”

“That’s nice to know.” He places a kiss on her forehead before showing her the fern,

“I bought you ‘first-day-at-the-office’ fern.” He says and she takes it from his hands, her heart feeling all fluffy and light,

“Aw, it’s just like the one I bought when we moved in together!” She says, her fingers lightly trailing over the leaves as she turns to place in at the corner of her table,

“It is. I thought I would keep up with the tradition.” She turns back around and loops her arms around his neck, and he bends down slightly so as to make it easier for her to slot their lips together in a comparably deeper kiss. One of the things that he loves about their relationship is this, the height difference. He loves that he has to bend down to meet her lips, loves that she need to stretch, needs to stand on the tips of her toes to meet him halfway even when she’s wearing her heels. He loves that when she’s bare foot, he just picks her up to meet his mouth instead. He loves that she’s so small to his huge frame. Loves how content she looks when she places her head on his chest or her chin on his breast bone as she looks up at him. He loves how gentle his touch is when he places his hands on her, loves how delicate she feels, especially because he knows how strong and stubborn she actually is.

He loves her. God, does he love her.

When they part, she picks up the takeout bag and peers inside,

“I didn’t bring Big Belly, because I know how messy they can get, but I thought you might prefer Italian to Thai.” He says as they both move to sit at the leather couch at the other end of the office. 

“Thank you.” She smiles and hands him his Styrofoam box filled with Pasta Carbonara, “How was your first day?” She continues after taking a bite of her own cauliflower pasta Alfredo. 

“Good.” He nods. “The extra two years at Harvard definitely help.” He says the next words with a smile so wide, he’s afraid he might crack open his own face by accident, “Dad and Walter were very impressed. I think at one point I surprised them so much, they stopped breathing for a while.”

Felicity laughs, “Well, I’m not surprised. I always knew you were smart.” She gives him a soft smile, “I’m very proud of you.”

He places a soft peck on the back of her hand, “That’s all I need. Nobody else’s opinion matters except yours.” Her smile is so bright; it’s one of those that make him question whether she wasn’t made of star dust like the rest of them, but of whole stars instead. She’s like the sun when she smiles like that.

“Oh, and now that you’re here, and I’m sure the rumour mill is buzzing from all the news, you might want to get in touch with the family’s PR manager.” Felicity tells him, and he knows she’s right. The number of stares he got as he made his way from the reception of the elevator alone is enough to let him know that by the time he leaves Felicity’s office, the news of his arrival at Kord Industries is going to be all over the TV.

“Megan wouldn’t want to arrange a press conference over this, but we’ll probably have to give a statement or something.” Felicity agrees with him with a nod.

Later, when their respective days are over and they’re both at home watching TV in the lounge, They’re joined by Thea carrying a heavy white binder under her arms,

“What’s that?” Felicity asks curiously at the same time Oliver cranes his neck so that he can watch the game because his sister is standing in front of the TV. Thea scowls when she sees she still hasn’t gotten her brother’s attention, and promptly turns the TV off.

“Hey!” Oliver protests, indignant, “I was watching that!”

“Forget the game, Ollie! We have more important things to discuss!”

“Like what, speedy?” 

“Like your wedding, you moron.”

“Oh, is that what that is?” Felicity joins in, pointing at the binder.

“That’s right. This is all that you’re going to need to have the perfect wedding!” Thea shows the binder to her brother and his fiancé proudly. “I’ve been working on it ever since Ollie sent me the video of the proposal.” Thea smirks at Felicity’s impressed look, before turning to her brother with a pout,

“Which, by the way, I still haven’t forgiven you about! You never said you were going to propose, and sent the video without any prior warning. I was in school! I shrieked so loud in the middle of the class, I got detention for a week!”

Oliver laughs, but it dies quickly when Thea pushes him away so that she can sit snugly between him and Felicity. 

“Hey!” He protests again, but onto deaf ears, Thea only opens up the binder on her lap, the first page displaying the name of all the possible venues with their pictures, cost of rent, and the address,

“Now, the very first question of course has to be, ‘where do you want your wedding?’” Felicity’s eyes are glued to the page while Oliver gives it a passing glance. He doesn’t care much about where he stands as long as Felicity is standing beside him, and they’re getting married. If it was up to him, they would just go to city hall tomorrow and sign the marriage certificate. But, this is not about him. This is about  _ them _ . So, he’s decided as long as Felicity does not ask for his opinion, he’s just going to go along with whatever it is she wants to do.

It takes them half an hour, and by the time Thea and Felicity have decided on a venue, Felicity’s tablet has also gotten mixed up in the planning. Oliver started re-watching the game on mute fifteen minutes ago, and neither of his favourite women has noticed yet. Felicity decides she doesn’t want to get married in a hotel, and Thea is sure that none of the chapels in the area are up to the Queen standard, so they decide to hold the wedding outdoors. There’s a beautiful spot near the Starling city bay that can easily be turned into an altar. And with the waves in the background, and the open sky above them, Felicity is sure that this is where she wants them to get married.

Then next up is of course, the colour scheme. It’s the easiest decision they make. Felicity says she likes the colour ‘silver’ and then turns to her fiancé, only to find him engrossed with the overtime,

“Oliver?”

“Hmm?” He answers distractedly. Felicity’s eyes narrow,

“Honey, are you listening?”

“Sure babe.”

“Oliver, Thea’s gotten herself a boyfriend.”

“Whatever you want, ‘licity.” Her eyes narrow further,

“Oliver, I’m pregnant.”

“That’s nice.” Felicity waits. 3…2… and sure enough, 

“WHAT?” Oliver’s head shoots to look at her, eyes wide in shock.

“There we go, now you’re paying attention.” Oliver’s eyes flick from Felicity’s to Thea’s, who is trying not to laugh and failing miserably. He swallows the strange disappointment he feels and turns back to his fiancée,

“Sorry, hun. What did you ask?”

“Pick a colour you want for the colour scheme.” 

“Uh…Green?” He guesses, and Felicity’s eyes furrow in thought, 

“Silver and Green…” She mumbles, “Huh. That could work.” She blinks, “It will be like a Slythrin-themed wedding.” She stares at Oliver for a moment, “Now that I think about it, you probably are a Slytherin.” And then she looks utterly horrified, “How can I marry someone who doesn’t know which Hogwarts house they belong to?” She gives Oliver a stern glare, “As soon as we go back to our room, you’re taking the Pottermore sorting hat quiz. I need to know what I’m getting in to.”

Oliver doesn’t know what she’s talking about except that it has something to do with Harry Potter. And frankly, he doesn’t really care either. Before he can ask his future wife permission to continue watching his game, they’re interrupted by Raisa,

“Ms. Queen, Mr. Queen, Ms. Smoak, The dinner’s served.” Felicity smiles at her,

“Thank you, Raisa. We’ll be there in a minute.”

He sighs, Guess the universe just doesn’t want him to watch the game tonight.

 

In the privacy of their room that night, with his back to the headboard and Felicity’s head on his lap as she works on her tablet, Oliver’s eyes stray to her flat stomach, he imagines it swollen, a baby, his baby growing in his fiancée, soon to be wife. And as he imagines it, his hands stray to caress the skin under her (his) shirt there. She twitches for a moment before relaxing under his colder hands, and looks up at him with a tiny smirk on her face,

“Okay, Mr. Queen. You are about to find out which house you belong to in Hogwarts. This is incredibly important, so please answer as truthfully as possible.” She speaks in a slightly posh-show-host accent, and he grins wide,

“Hit me.” He tells her, and she clears her throat,

“Question one, Which do you prefer? The forest or the river?”

“The River.”

“Okay, That was unnervingly quick. Next question. You enter an enchanted garden. What would you be the most curious to examine first? The silver leafed tree bearing golden apples? The fat red toadstools that appear to be talking to each other? The bubbling pool in the depths of which something luminous is stirring? Or the statue of an old wizard with a strangely twinkling eye?”

“What?” Oliver chocked out between incredulous chuckles,

“Just answer the question, hun.” Felicity said, pinching his thigh lightly. He retaliated by tugging a few strands of her hair,

“Uh… The third one?”

“The bubbling pool in the depths of which something luminous is stirring?”

“Sure.” 

“Oliver, you are taking this seriously aren’t you?”

“Of course, honey.”

“Okay then, next question. If you were attending Hogwarts, which pet would you take with you?”

“That one’s actually relatively easy. I’d take a cat.” Felicity scrunched up her nose,

“Why cat?”

“Well, I don’t really like birds, so owls are out. And toads are just disgusting.”

“Okay, but which kind of a cat?”

“Uh…Ginger? Let’s go with ginger.” Oliver’s hands roamed and caressed Felicity’s torso as if they had a mind of their own. His other hand was twirling pieces of Felicity’s hair in its natural curls. He loved her in curls. They were like soft, golden, springs that bounced with every tiny moment of her shoulder. It was adorable.

“Alright. Ginger cat. Given the choice, would you invent a potion that would guarantee you, Love? Glory? Wisdom? Or Power?” 

Oliver was silent for a moment as he contemplated his options. Glory wasn’t really important to him. And while wisdom and love seemed necessary, they’re things he wants to grow into rather than obtain. He wants to learn, and explore, make mistakes, and love. But power? If he could obtain power, he would. The power to protect. To keep himself and the people he loves safe. The power to keep Felicity content and happy, just as much and even more happier than she makes him.

“Power.” He says and even though Felicity raises a brow, she says nothing.

“Well, if you had any one of these powers, which one would you choose? Mind reading, super human strength, invisibility, power to speak to animals, power to change the past or shape shifting?”

“Shape shifting. Definitely.”

“Really? Even if you could change anything in your life till now?” Oliver bends slightly so that he can brush his lips against Felicity’s forehead and she hums in subtle joy,

“I’m quite happy with the way my life turned out actually.”

“Okay, Last question, Heads or tails?”

“What does that even mean?”

“Just go with your gut, love.”

“Heads, then.” Felicity nods and presses the select option and Oliver, despite his earlier disinterest leans forward to see which house he belongs in,

_ Slytherin. _ It says in white in front of the green background with a snake emblem above it. Oliver frowns, 

“Slytherin? Isn’t that a bad house to belong in? I thought all the bad guys in Harry Potter were from that house?”

“Not really. Slytherin is a good house.” Felicity says, as she taps onto the ‘More about my house’ option and lazily scrolls through the page, “Let’s see, Cunning, Ambitious, Resourceful, Determined. Sounds a lot like my Oliver.” Felicity continues and looks up at him with a cheeky grin, and Oliver can’t resist, he never has been able to, so he presses his lips and against hers and smiles when he feels more than hears her sigh. When he pulls back, she winks at him,

“You know, they do say that Ravenclaw and Slytherins make pretty cool power couples.” Oliver laughs at that, and adjusts the both of them so that they’re both under the covers, with her head pressed against his shoulder as he turns so that he’s facing her,

“Felicity?”

“Hmm?” Her eyes are closed now, so he presses a hand insistently against her waist to grab her attention, he really wants to have this conversation, it’s been at the back of his mind ever since dinner,

“Felicity, hun. I want to talk about something we haven’t really discussed before.”

She opens her eyes to look at him curiously, and he gulps, his mouth dry as his hand travels lower to rest on her stomach,

“What do you want to talk about?” 

“Kids.” 

Felicity blinks, and blinks again, “Kids?”

Oliver nods, and rushes further before she can shut him down, “I know we’re still young, and that people our age are usually still wading through the dating pool, and I’m not talking about right now, or even after we get married. Just, someday. You know?”

“Kids. Someday?” Felicity repeated, her voice and expression unreadable. Oliver gulped. Because this is all he has ever really wanted. A life and a family with the woman he loves, but really, if Felicity isn’t ready, if she won’t ever be ready, he’ll still be content. He’ll still be happy. Because, he’ll still have her. And as long as he has her, he’s going to be just fine. 

He waits, and just when he’s about to shut everything down, tell her that it’s not really important to him, even though it kind of really is, she smiles. Big and toothy and absolutely adorable,

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Yeah?” He breaths, and she nods, speaking equally softly,

“Yeah. Like a tiny baby with your hair and my eyes, and your agility, but my brains, just running around the mansion.” She whispers, eyes hooded with wonder and mouth curved in a satisfied smile, Oliver’s own stretches till he is grinning from ear to ear.

“They’ll definitely have you’re babble.” He says and Felicity makes a face, 

“May the lord never curse anyone else with a broken brain to mouth filter.” Oliver laughs and Felicity continues, “But, they will have your determination. And your strive to do good.” Oliver’s eyes soften, and he brings her closer to him, still until there isn’t a part of their bodies that isn’t in contact with the other.

“I want a little girl. With pigtails and glasses and all her attention on her baby tablet.” He whispers as if it’s a secret. And Felicity gives him a slightly delirious grin,

“I want to see a tiny-you just parkour around the house.” Felicity told him. They stared at each other in a slightly awed silence until Felicity broke it with a giggle,

“What is it?” Oliver asked, still talking in whispers even though they were the only two people in the entire wing,

“It’s just, we’re gonna make some really beautiful babies.” Oliver chuckled, but nodded in agreement.

“Yeah we are. Beautiful and smart. Our babies would rule the world.” He saw Felicity’s eyelids getting heavier with each passing second, and he pressed his lips against her temple in a good-night kiss,

“Yeah, they would.” She mumbled in agreement as sleep took her, “We’re gonna have to keep an eye on them so that they don’t turn into evil geniuses.”

“Mmhmm.” Oliver agreed just before he too, fell asleep.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I love fluffy as fuck Olicity fics where nothing bad ever happens. Completely unrealistic and very naive, but I think we deserve it after the season 7 promo and trailer, not to mention the season 6 finale.
> 
> Someone needs to treat my babies right, and if the writers aren't going to do it, I'll have to take the matters into my own hands.
> 
> Also, If you've read my other fic, you know I'm not really a Laurel Lance fan. I'm afraid, if you want to read more of my work, you're going to need to get used to my childish pettiness towards that character in general.


End file.
